Gerard`s pov
I just couldn’t believe it. Where had all the years gone? I stare fixedly at the old wooden staircase as though it would give me the answer. Obviously it didn’t. I just couldn’t figure out where all the time had vanished to. One minute we were changing diapers, then we were dropping her off at friends, then I was chasing away boys, and now this. Now college. My little baby girl was no longer a baby, she was all grown up. I was still desperetly trying to work out exactly when and how this had happened.
“Bandit, hurry up!” Lyn-z yells again, growing impatient, glancing at her watch every few seconds. We had to leave soon, and the car wasn’t even fully loaded with all of Bandit`s stuff.
“Coming!” my only daughter yells back down, and I sigh, unable to hold all of the emotions that were currently swimming around inside of my head any longer.
“It`ll all be fine, Gee.” Lyn-z smiles at me reassuringly and squeezes my hand lightly. And it would be alright, it would. I knew it would it was just so daunting, I was still unable yo wrap my head around it.
“I`m here.” Bandit tells us, walking down the stairs, earphones blasting music in her ears, lugging a huge case of luggage including clothes, books and other stuff that was "too important" to leave, behind her.
“Oh, Bee!” Lyn-z clutches hold of her pulling her in for a hug much to Bandit`s annoyance. She hugs back though, smiling a little.
“I’ll be fine Mom. I` not going far.” She pulls away and removes one earphone, and dumps her suitcase on the floor by the front door.
“We know sweetie, but we do worry. You’re going to college in a whole other sate, you’re not a little girl anymore.”
She rolls her eyes, but I can tell that she is listening to us, taking in what we were saying.
It had all gone so fast. It seemed like only yesterday we had brought her home from the hospital, clothed in baby pjs and wrapped up in a soft, little white blanket. Now she was going off to college, to study art and music, in a different state. While I knew we had to let her go and become her own person, it was incredibly hard to do so. But we had no choice, she would always be our little girl, but she wasn’t so little anymore.
“I want you to behave at college Bandit.” I tell her sternly. “That means no drugs,” I may sound like a hypocrite saying this to her, but I wasn’t going to let my daughter make the same mistakes I had. She was better than that, better than me. She was smarter, more talented and beautiful. She was going places. “No sex.” I grimace, waiting for the disgusted outburst. It wasn’t as though I liked talking about this stuff with her, but she was my daughter, and no hormone crazed boy was gonna mess her up.
“Oh my fucking god dad. Ew.”
“Bee, I trust you but I don’t want you becoming none of those girls that get knocked up at your age and-“
“Do you honestly think I will, Dad?” she looks me straight in the eye. Sighing again I shake my head. No, I didn’t, she wasn’t like that, Bandit had self respect, and she had her head screwed on right. Not that I had a problem with her having a boyfriend of course, as long as he made her happy and was good enough for my daughter. So what if I was a little overprotective of her, it was only because I loved her so damn much. I wasn’t the only dad in the world that was so protective. Frank was the same with Cherry and Lilly, in fact he was worse.
“Let me guess dad.” Bandit smiled, pausing her IPod and taking out her other earphone. “No rock n roll either?”
I grin, despite of the sadness and worry I had inside. “No, rock n rolls acceptable, Bee.” She grins and does something very unexpected-she pulls me in for a hug, something she hadn’t done for a while now.
“Love you dad.”
“I Love you too Bandit Lee Way.”

…
“Bye…” I smile sadly, waving her off watching as she disappears from view and into the new college building. I keep waving long after she is gone, not sure if I could ever stop, knowing that once I did the reality of hr being gone would begin to sink in.
“She`ll be fine. She`s got you as a dad, she`ll do just fine, Gee.”
“I now she will be, I just miss her.”
“Already?” lyn-z asks, starting the car and driving away, eyes glued to the road in front whilst mine are firmly glued to the rapidly disappearing college campus.
“Don’t you?”
She nods once and smiles sadly “Yes.”
“She has to grow up though, doesn’t she Linds? She can’t stay with us forever. She has to go out into the big wide world and follow her dreams. We`ll be here waiting when she gets back.”
She nods again. “Of course. Bee will be fine, she’ll be something one day, Gee. She`s really something special.” like I didn`t already know that.